13th Annual SEF Student Film Festival and Art Show
Presented by Sequim Education Foundation
Student Film Festival: 7 p.m. on Friday, April 20, at the Sequim High School Auditorium, 601 N. Sequim Ave.
Art Show: 6 p.m. on Friday, April 20, at the Sequim School District Board Room, 503 N. Sequim Ave.
$3 suggested donation
Sequim Middle School and High School students are gearing up to showcase their best creative work.
The 13th annual Sequim Education Foundation’s (SEF) Student Film Festival is set for 7 p.m. on Friday, April 20, at the Sequim High School Auditorium, following the Art Show at 6 p.m. at the Sequim School District Board Room.
For many students in grades six through twelve, this film festival and art show is the only event where students can get exposure for their work.
Students can earn up to $500 in cash prizes for first place at the film festival and $50 is given to the first place winning film in special categories. Artists also are awarded cash prizes for a variety of different categories, including “Best in Show” and “People’s Choice Award” voted on by the public the night of the show.
The special award categories in film are: school spirit, commercial, animation, comedy, drama, sci-fi, documentary, music video, GoAnime (middle school only) and other.
Student films cannot exceed five minutes in length and are judged from an independent panel of judges appointed by SEF.
Christy Ditlefsen, Sequim High School video production teacher and film festival coordinator, said there are five student films submitted this year and that the money awarded to students is in the form of cash prizes instead of scholarships.
Many students submitting films this year are returning filmmakers, such as Abygail Mundy, a Sequim High School senior. Her film this year is called “All for Love,” a spin-off film of the “Harry Potter” series.
She said this year she is hoping to take first place.
“I think people will like the special effects,” she said.
A “Harry Potter” fan, Mundy said creating the special effects for her film was a challenge but she believes it will make her film stand out. She said if she wins she will use the money to bring her friend and previous exchange student from Brazil back to the States.
Mundy and freshman Jackson Lindorfer will serve as this year’s festival emcees.
On the art side, Sequim High School drawing, painting, glass fusing and psychology teacher Jaye Hall said she is encouraging her art students to submit two pieces to the art show.
“It’s so neat for the public to see what the kids are working on,” Hall said.
“Art doesn’t get much fan fare for the high school so this is a wonderful opportunity to have their work seen by their parents and the public.”
She said there is a variety of student artwork on display, including photography, floral design, glass fusing, drawings, paintings, and more.
Last year, Hall said there were about 300 people that attended the art show and about 150-200 pieces of artwork that will be on display this year.
For some student artists, such as Sequim High School junior Arianna Gerrior and senior Haelee Andres, their artwork holds special meaning.
Gerrior is in Hall’s painting class and AP art studio, where her focus is women empowerment.
She is planning on submitting two to three pieces of her artwork using acrylic paint.
“I do a lot of body figures and faces,” Gerrior said. “I have had a lot of problems with self image so it’s a subject that means a lot to me.”
She comes from a family of tattoo artists, she said, and is interested in pursing art after high school at the San Francisco Art Institute.
Andres also is an AP art student, as well as a student liaison at Sequim City Council and the City Arts Advisory Commission.
Her AP art concentration is designs and nature and she plans on submitting one watercolor piece or possibly a chalk pastel or India ink piece.
“I’m consistently surrounded by nature and exploring it,” Andres said.
“I wanted to capture the design and beauty of my surroundings.”
After high school, Andres will attend Central Washington University and plans to major in art and art history with a teaching credential so she can teach high school art.
For more information about the film festival or art show, visit https://www.facebook.com/seffilmfest/ and contact Christy Ditlefsen at cditlefsen@sequim.k12.wa.us or Jaye Hall at jhall@sequim.k12.wa.us.
Students from Sequim Middle and High Schools are submitting their best creative work for the 13th annual Sequim Education Foundation Student Film Festival and Art Show set for Friday, April 20. Sequim High School students Abygail Mundy and Jackson Lindorfer are gearing up to emcee the film festival this year. Sequim Gazette photo by Erin Hawkins
Filmmakers and friends Amanda Weller, Melissa Porter and Maddy Dietzman (not pictured) are submitting their film “The Most Obnoxious Place on Earth” a spoof on Disney princesses to the 13th annual Sequim Education Foundation Student Film Festival set for April 20. Sequim Gazette photo by Erin Hawkins
